The Los Angeles Departments of City Planning (LA DCP), the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LA DOT) and GOOD/Corps, an affiliate of GOOD, have teamed up for LA/2B, a new initiative putting street use and alternative transit back in the creative imagination of Angelenos.

Will self-driving cars lead to grade-separated cities?: The usually sensible people at MIT’s Senseable City Lab are looking at the future of the traffic light in the world of the self-driving car, and predict that its days are numbered. Instead, they propose a “slot-based intersections that could replace traditional traffic lights, significantly reducing delays, make traffic patterns more efficient, and lower fuel consumption.”

Why Race Matters in Planning Public Parks: A major overhaul of a huge Houston park reveals disparities in what white, black, and Latino residents want—and need. “…connectivity was ranked last among priorities for black and Latino Houstonians. What do they want for their parks? Not only clean, functioning public bathrooms, but also better lighting to make parks safer at night and better playground equipment that’s not prone to breaking down.”

No Man’s Land: In 1986, the City of Los Angeles acquired the land from a group of owners through eminent domain, inviting members of a local food bank to plant a community garden. Between 1994 and 2006 hundreds of families grew a profusion of food plants on what had been a blighted lot just a few years before. The South Central Farm prospered until the prior owners filed a lawsuit against the city. Bulldozers destroyed the farm. A decade later, the land remains vacant.

About

AHBE LAB is a forum for exploration, inquiry, and collaboration. It is a place to share who we are, what inspires us, what we are dreaming about. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into our design process.